FOLSOM, Calif. — Two California prison officers were hospitalized after an alleged attack by an incarcerated man, and authorities are investigating it as an attempted homicide, officials said Sunday.

The incident happened Saturday at California State Prison, Sacramento, as the suspect was being escorted from his cell to allow staff to conduct a search, according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

“Staff used physical force and chemical agents to quickly quell the attack, and an improvised weapon was found at the scene,” the corrections department said in a statement.

The officers were transported in fair condition, the statement said.

The 48-year-old male suspect was placed in restricted housing during the investigation, officials said. He arrived at the facility in 2011 to serve a 17-year sentence for charges including corporal injury to a spouse. In 2022, he received an additional four years for possession/manufacture of a deadly weapon.

The case will be referred to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office for possible felony prosecution.

The prison northeast of the state capital houses more than 2,200 medium-, maximum- and high-security incarcerated people.